2026 will define Brad and Dan’s legacy…

The Den
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Brad and Dan were handed quite a mess in 2021, and the initial rags to riches story was pretty Hollywood. Swapping Stafford for Goff and a pile of beans, and then building a playoff caliber roster (we finished 2022 HOT) in short order was pretty impressive. Then winning a playoff game in Ford Field against Stafford? Then a second playoff game in the SAME SEASON… crazy town!

Things have definitely been a bit odd since the heart breaking loss to Washington though. Even in that year we failed to address the secondary when guys like R Douglas were available for cheap at the deadline.

If we are truly being honest with ourselves… we haven’t had a great hire, signing, or draft pick since announcing Brian Branch’s name round 2 in 2023-

Trading down to take Hooker who was already 25 and injured versus standing pat and taking a guy like Steen-

Trading 3 picks to move up for a project like Bromart who had a terrible ras, and middling small college production?

Trading significant capital to move up for Terrion and then using more elite capital to take Rakestraw who was often injured in college

Trading a future 3rd for a 24 year old Canadian football project as a crazy 4th round reach?

Trading another future pick and a later pick to draft an older 2 year college safety who had 500 yards from scrimmage his final year and evidently decided to convert him to RB and let him play ST (when healthy).. B Allen went a pick later at RB

Nobody in here was over the moon for Tyliek, and then we had another trade up for Ratledge who has been pretty damn good.

Then came the crazy trade 3 third rounders to move up for Teslaa despite paltry college production.

This year many thought keeping Sewell at RT and drafting Freeling at LT was the move and many had guys like Lewis and Jacas over Moore in round 2.

We suffered a huge brain drain losing Randle El, Engerstand, Barrett, T Williams and of course Ben and AG…. John Morton and promoting Shep was how we replaced all of that?

I like the Petzig move, but we are staying the course with Shep…

I know it wasn’t a HUGE deal, but why cut Dortch for freaking Small? One WR injury and Dortch is a serviceable Raymond level starter for a few games plus punt returns.

The only possible though is Vaki will return punts and play some slot WR?

Even safety…. Does anyone expect high level play out of Kerby or Branch in the next 6 weeks? It’s kind of like we just punted in safety, and after cutting Terrion… same at CB to a lesser extent.

If we come out and win 12 games, a division and a playoff game or two… then Brad and Dan are cemented. However a 10-7 finish and missing the playoffs or a one and done, and I think it’s a wrap…

Lot riding on 2026

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I don’t get why everyone is up in arms about Greg Dortch? The guy was going to be a gadget player for us, and yes he can return punts. Guys, and I am not saying it sarcastically, we still have Tom Kennedy. Last year when Raymond got hurt, Kennedy not only stepped in and played fine at punt returns, he had a few returns that had people saying maybe it IS time to move on from Lief.

I think people are looking at the 53 man depth chart and getting way too caught up in the numbers. Are we really questioning roster depth because the 53 man roster doesn’t have Tom Kennedy or Lucky Jackson at WR5? The Lions use their PS guys to help supplement all the time. WR is a position you can always find. We were MUCH thinner in 2024 when we went into the season without a WR3, and ended up plucking Tim Patrick off of the scrap heap.

For safety, yes Kerby is done. The Lions also loaded up on pass rushers. The best way to protect a weak secondary? Rush the passer. Branch should be back in mid October. Harper, Maddux, Clark and Izien can hold down the fort in the meantime. We could look at making a trade at the deadline, depending on how things shake out.

Every team in the NFL has holes in some way shape or form. Even the elite Rams right now, are the 3rd oldest team in the NFL. We’ve seen what happens to old teams in the NFL. The guys they have now, may not be the same guys in December. In fact, that’s true of most of the league. I like the depth the Lions have built up.

Also, for the coordinators, Dan hired a dud in Moore but was shooting for continuity. It failed, he made the change. Sheppard has already shown he is willing to make changes. Our defense is going to look very different in 2026. Only time will tell if it’s better, but it will be different. It’s much faster, and instead of stacking the line with a bunch of heavies and praying for Hutch to get home, they are much more athletic and sending pressures from everywhere.

If this team makes a run to the playoffs, even if they are 1 and done, there is no way it’s a wrap. People just want to try to force arbitrary deadlines to force something to happen. You play games, and if you win? Great, figure out how to get better. You lose? Damn, better figure out how to get better. The idea you just pack it in and hit the implode button, it’s what we saw of the pre Dan Campbell Lions. Not this era.

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If Sheila sees this, she’ll get mad and raise ticket prices. On 2nd thought, she’ll raise prices just for sh*ts and giggles.

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The Lions only have 6 WRs total (PS + 53) and only 2 of those 6 have actually had any meaningful NFL production.

For a position that was a “strength” we are notoriously thin at that position.

Greg Dorch was a serviceable NFL player that has more production than our WR3, WR4, WR5 and WR6.

The final 53-man roster + Practice Squad looks like another Holmes “smartest man in the room” moments which I thought he was moving away from.

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It’s a big year because every year’s a big year, even they would agree, but I think ‘defining their legacy’ is a tad hyperbolic.

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You can find serviceable NFL players at WR anytime you need to. We were not a Greg Dortch away from winning, or getting knocked out of a Super Bowl. Our notoriously thin WR room, is the same top 3 from last year. Most teams would kill to have ARSB and Jamo as their top 2. The Lions aren’t going to be running 4 and 5 wide often enough for us to need to use that many receivers. Our 3-4 or even 5th WR’s, are going to be returners and blockers. We have returners covered with the RB’s, especially Saylors, and Kennedy will most likely return punts. I don’t see a massive dropoff from PR between Dortch and Kennedy.

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100 percent. Need to go forward and not backwards.

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The last 4 pix of the 2023 draft were bad, but that seems kinda ridiculous to say when the first 4 pix produced top-5 guys at their positions.

The 2024 draft has disappointed so far - AND, as of now, 4 of 6 will suit up for the Lions this year. Meaning that the story of that draft remains to be fully written. Mahogs and Rakestraw will have something to say there.

None of the 2025 draft picks were instant stars last year - that’s about all we can say at this point. We’ll learn a lot this season. Sure looks like the last two drafts will supply a lot of quality depth and solid starters, which is pretty good.

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I think Holmes is in control of the draft with minor input from Dan. I think Holmes still wants to prove how smart he thinks he is and goes off the reservation during the draft just to prove it. I’ve given him the benefit of the doubt, but some of his moves have been questionable at best.

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I agree 2026 defines Holmes/Campbell. 2 years building, 2 years winning (but not the big one) and a winning season in 2025 but disappointing. Can the team get back to winning ways and win big in the playoffs in 2026?

This club has talent and depth. Time to win. Period. Injuries suck so hopefully we can finally get lucky there. A losing season will make 2023/2024 feel like the exceptions.

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Life Fix GIF

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I agree with al most all of this

I do, however, think it is extremely likely that we make a deep playoff run, with a strong possibility of Super Bowl appearance

I think most people in here underestimate how rough it is to lose both coordinators, and a bunch of assistants in one year

In my opinion, the biggest mistake Brad has made, is trusting both Decker and Glasgow last year

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If we take a huge step backwards, I’ll agree. Say we shit the bed and go 6-11 or 5-12 and the OC hire goes wrong again. Then we can have this conversation.

Disagree for now though.

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As long as we have a little luck with health, I think an improved offensive line equals an improved Gibby, and improved golf, and improved offense in general

I think Talik and his second year, a fully healthy Alim, and hopefully a little help from Moore… With Jack Campbell behind them…

And in my opinion, the biggest off-season move was picking up the new bald guys, especially the OC

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Better offensive line
Better defensive line
Better offensive coordinator
Weaker schedule

I would truly be surprised if we don’t at the very least win the division, if not the NFC

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Good for them because the defense is primed for significant jump in production, the offense has depth in the OL so only a Goff injury could derail things, and Jake Bates has already missed his season limit of FGs, meaning he’ll be perfect in the season.

The only thing we have to fear is fear (and the refs) itself.

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Exactly. So if do hypothetically shit the bed, what would that say?

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It would say the bald guy goes into hibernation for a bit.

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No mention of Jack Fox? Are you feeling okay bud? :smiley:

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